News in 2014

Christmas Party

Home grown entertainment proved a huge hit.

Thanks to all our entertainers for providing such a wonderful evening!

Colin and David awarded CA Diplomas In recognition of all their hard work for our club David Tutt and Colin Gregory have been awarded Croquet Association Diplomas. They travelled to Hurlingham Club where the diplomas were presented at the Croquet Association AGM.

﻿In the Semi-Finals of EACF GC Handicap League, Letchworth Blues lost 9-10 to Malden Pavilion on 4th September after the closest possible match losing 6/7 on the Golden hoop in the 19th match! Our team were Colin Gregory, Hugo Jeune, Peter Ross and David Russell who all played brilliantly.﻿

August Fun Doubles - 31st August We had a sunny afternoon and 32 competitors for the August Fun Doubles GC tournament.Tricia Noble and Andrea Carr were the winners with Sue Bathmaker gaining the highest individual score.

Summer Party July 2014We were once more very lucky to hold our party at Duncan and Annette's house in glorious sunshine. The after-lunch sport options included Golf Croquet (played with golf balls and putters), bowls, Ricochet croquet and keenly contested garden Jenga.Presentations were made to thank David(T) and Colin for everything that they do for our club.David wrote 'Thank you so much for the pot of Hydrangeas. They are perfect for our garden where we have little flowerbed space and the colour compliments our two blue pots. What a kind thought.'

Strawberry Tea Fun DoublesGlorious weather, brilliant organisation, a competitive spirit - a recipe for success! Strawberries and cakes too. The winning pair were Beryl Alabaster and John Barrance and the prize for highest individual score went to Andrea Carr.

John Skingsley won the Edward Martin Competition 26th May Congratulations to John Skingsley for winning the trophy and to Tracy Martin who was second in a closely fought final.The entrants were Sue Bathmaker (9) David Russell (9) Tracy Martin (8) Patricia Noble (8) Hugo Jeune (7) Robert Staddon (7) {defending champion} Peter Aspinall (6) David Clancey (6) Sheila Rhodes (5) John Noble (4) John Alabaster (3) John Skingsley (3) As well as the defending champion (Robert), the field included two previous champions (David Clancey and John Skingsley) and two other finalists (David Russell and Sheila Rhodes). Indeed, only David Gough was missing from that lineup!

New gazebos in use at CA Tournament

Congratulations to Heather Bennett who won the High Handicap tournament 14/15th May with David Frost a close second.

GC Interclub match v Hunstanton resulted in a win for Letchworth 4.5 - 2.5. Congratulations to our team, Nick. Duncan, Ian and David(T). The next round match will be against Dulwich who won the competition last year.

﻿EACF Club Champions Final﻿Played at Hunstanton 27th April 2014. On a fine and sunny Hunstanton day, winners of club AC competitions from across the East Anglian Croquet Federation met to find the winners in three categories:Advanced Level:Simon Hathrell, Watford Advanced ‘B’ level:Tim Brewer, Wrest ParkHandicap: David Mathews, LetchworthEntrants from Letchworth (and Bygrave) included David Tutt, Duncan Hector, Keith Rhodes and David Mathews but it was David Mathews, appearing in his first major tournament, who ran away with the Handicap event, winning all his three games in record time.Congratulations David!

Fun Doubles TournamentOn a beautiful sunny afternoon, 28 members competed in our annual 'Start the Summer Tournament'.The winning partnership was John Barrance and Bridget Sheldrick with Susan Brookes claiming the prize for highest individual score. Thanks to Colin for brilliant organisation once again and to Sue and helpers for the delicious tea.

David Millman was presented with a gift to thank him for his time as treasurer of the club. He later wrote 'I was very touched to receive the gift of the salad bowl this afternoon, thankyou very much. It was an excellent choice of gift as we make good use of such things, particularly in the summer. I have enjoyed being treasurer during a period of change and development for the club, and was quite surprised to realise, when I checked, that it was seven years.May I wish the new committee all the best.'

﻿Annual Dinner 2014Over 40 members and guests enjoyed the meal at Letchworth Golf Club and the magical diversion by Duncan.﻿

Quiz Night a Great SuccessOur Quiz Night was attended by more than 90 keen players. As well as a very enjoyable evening it raised more than £1000 for club funds! Thanks to Sue for organising, to Jeremy for being Quizmaster and to Carol for a fantastic supper.

Latest news about the lawns

For
some time now the Club has had a need for additional storage, primarily to
remove potentially hazardous or dangerous items from areas which members
regularly use. New legislation will come into effect over the next
couple of years requiring certain lawn treatment products, and the equipment
used to apply them, to be isolated from general access.
I
am pleased to say that the Club has been successful in its recent planning
application and a small additional shed will shortly be erected behind the
existing shed at the side of Court 2. It is of the same make and
design, but slightly smaller and so should largely be hidden from normal
view.
When
the sprayer and other equipment have been relocated we hope to be able to make
the shelter more welcoming and useful. One idea is to provide
an electricity supply, meaning lights and . . . a kettle !
As
soon as the weather allows, the GroundTeam will be levelling an area for the
base. We would welcome a few volunteers to help with this work, so
please let me know if I can add your name to the list. Nothing too
onerous, just a couple of hours here and there.
We
will also be looking for a small amount of hard-core to use when levelling the
base, so do please let me know if you have some old (uncontaminated) bricks,
rubble, paving slabs etc. that you would like to get rid of in a good
cause.
The
purpose of this note is to keep you informed of our plans, and to tempt a few of
you into helping with some of the workload. Please get in touch if
you have any questions or concerns.
Thanks, KeithOn behalf of the GroundTeam